Four today

1. eMeg Whitman, Republican candidate for California governor, is the 332nd richest person in the world and only one of 34 women to make the Forbes 400. Gawker

2. Getting a handle on the SEO slave-drivers in the newsroom. Nieman Journalism Lab

3. National Journal continues to beef up, hiring Patricia Wilson from Reuters as the deputy editor-in-chief. The news magazine was criticized for being too male dominated in its new hires. Poynter

4. Spot.us, the fund-raising news site, has a 10-month gig for a reporter/editor to cover "overlooked, quality-of-life issues across Los Angeles." Journalism Jobs (via LA Observed)

Four in the morning

1. At least the headline isn't editorializing ... oh wait. Politico

2. The coming onslaught of privacy legislation. San Jose Mercury News

3. Journalists need to make readers understand why they need to pay attention. Nieman Lab

4. Like his Republican opponent, Jerry Brown will release a budget plan that can safely be ignored. PropZero

Four in the morning

1. The Wall Street Journal is making googly eyes at Los Angeles, hoping, as the New York Times does, to take advantage of a severely weakened Los Angeles Times. LAO

2. AOL plans to be the "largest net hirer" of journalists next year. Ad Age (via Romenesko)

3. Yahoo and Huffington Post are getting cozy. Beet.tv (via Romenesko)

4. Meg Whitman wants to buy your vote, but you'll have to buy your own drink. fishbowlLA

Four in the morning

1. Republicans Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner have spent nearly $100 million between them in an increasingly bizarre primary contest. The headline for Dan Morain's latest column in the Sacramento Bee says it all: "Never before has so much been spent for so little" SacBee

2. Alan Mutter says local television stations could go the way of the newspaper (would that really be so bad?) Mutter

3. Reporters at Tribune Co.'s WGN Channel 9 are asked to shill for L.L. Bean. ChiTrib (found via Romenesko)

4. The Los Angeles Times has yet to close its printing press in Orange County. The new deadline is June 15, but the change in ownership at the Orange County Register could win the plant a reprieve. LA Pressmens' blog

Poizner, the anti-pornographer*

Insurance Commissioner and Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner has launched an attack ad accusing his opponent, Meg Whitman, of profiting from pornography.



*UPDATE: Whitman gets the Dick Cheney endorsement. Cheney rips Poizner for having given money to the Gore-Lieberman campaign in 2000.

The Goldman Sachs connection

Gubernatorial candidates Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman trade charges over their connections to Goldman Sachs, which is being sued for fraud by the SEC. Whitman had direct financial ties, Brown had a somewhat tangential relationship via his time as mayor of Oakland. The Los Angeles Times looks at Whitman; California Watch looks at Brown.

California's center-left looking center-right

A new Field Poll has former eBay executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman far ahead of her primary challenger, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

This comes as no surprise.

What does is the news that Whitman edges out Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, who had until recently been seen as the overwhelming favorite going into November.

From the Sacramento Bee:

Whitman ... overtook Brown in a possible general election matchup, winning the support of 46 percent of likely voters compared with Brown's 43 percent, the poll found. Brown had led Whitman by 10 percentage points in the January poll and by 21 points in October.

Apparently, independent voters are leaning conservative in this election, which means Brown will have to step up his campaign earlier than he might have otherwise.

Four in the morning

1. Meg Whitman wants media attention, but not media questions. Chronicle

2. Bonuses for Orange County Register employees. LAO

3. The new editor of the Pasadena Star-News says he's back in the USSR. Star-News

4. The Los Angeles Daily Journal eliminates one of two D.C. reporter positions, prompting reporter Robert Iafolla to quit, and adds a labor and employment beat to the legal paper. LAO